Apple today seeded the first beta of what would become the third
major software update to iOS 10 since its September 2016 release. The
release includes a new Find My AirPods feature and other enhancements,
like Reduce Motion for websites.

Now that the first look at iOS 10.3 has been revealed, it doesn’t look
like Theater Mode made the cut for the first beta, but there were a few
key additions.

The Find My iPhone app now includes Find My AirPods

Reduced Motion is now supported in Safari for web apps

SiriKit now includes the ability to support paying bills, schedule future ride-hailing rides, and check the status of payments.

CarPlay now has a dedicated shortcut to launch recently used apps

CarPlay will now show EV charging locations

Navigation improvements have arrived for conversations in the Mail app

HomeKit now supports expanded switch accessories

New 3D Touch Weather actions

Spotlight Search now has a border

The Podcasts app now officially has a widget similar to the Music app

There’s a new user security section in Settings

Update 1:

Well known hacker and developer, Steven Troughton-Smith has discovered that iOS 10.3 includes a new hidden feature: a floating one-handed keyboard for iPads. It remains to be seen if Apple will enable it when iOS 10.3 is released to the public.

Siri and CarPlay improvements

Siri in iOS 10.3 beta 1 can retrieve cricket scores from Indian
Premier League and International Cricket Council. More importantly, the
SiriKit framework can now be used to pay bills, check on the status of
payments and schedule future rides. By the way, Apple states that the
new SiriKit car commands are still in development.
An updated CarPlay in iOS 10.3 beta 1 provides handy shortcuts for
launching recently used apps while CarPlay’s Maps app now highlights
electric vehicle charging station locations, a feature Apple Maps for
iPhone gained in December.

Update 2:
watchOS 3.2 includes Theatre mode, so we now have the details of how it will work:

Theater Mode lets users quickly mute the sound on their
Apple Watch and avoid waking the screen on wrist raise. Users still
receive notifications (including haptics) while in Theater Mode, which
they can view by tapping the screen or pressing the Digital Crown.

In case of the iPhone and iPad, you will be able to access Theatre mode via a dedicated button in Control Centre.

This entry was posted on October 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm, and is filed under
Apple,
iOS 10.3 beta 1. Follow any responses to this post through RSS. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

What’s New in iOS 10.3 Beta 1

Apple today seeded the first beta of what would become the third
major software update to iOS 10 since its September 2016 release. The
release includes a new Find My AirPods feature and other enhancements,
like Reduce Motion for websites.

Now that the first look at iOS 10.3 has been revealed, it doesn’t look
like Theater Mode made the cut for the first beta, but there were a few
key additions.

The Find My iPhone app now includes Find My AirPods

Reduced Motion is now supported in Safari for web apps

SiriKit now includes the ability to support paying bills, schedule future ride-hailing rides, and check the status of payments.

CarPlay now has a dedicated shortcut to launch recently used apps

CarPlay will now show EV charging locations

Navigation improvements have arrived for conversations in the Mail app

HomeKit now supports expanded switch accessories

New 3D Touch Weather actions

Spotlight Search now has a border

The Podcasts app now officially has a widget similar to the Music app

There’s a new user security section in Settings

Update 1:

Well known hacker and developer, Steven Troughton-Smith has discovered that iOS 10.3 includes a new hidden feature: a floating one-handed keyboard for iPads. It remains to be seen if Apple will enable it when iOS 10.3 is released to the public.

Siri and CarPlay improvements

Siri in iOS 10.3 beta 1 can retrieve cricket scores from Indian
Premier League and International Cricket Council. More importantly, the
SiriKit framework can now be used to pay bills, check on the status of
payments and schedule future rides. By the way, Apple states that the
new SiriKit car commands are still in development.
An updated CarPlay in iOS 10.3 beta 1 provides handy shortcuts for
launching recently used apps while CarPlay’s Maps app now highlights
electric vehicle charging station locations, a feature Apple Maps for
iPhone gained in December.

Update 2:
watchOS 3.2 includes Theatre mode, so we now have the details of how it will work:

Theater Mode lets users quickly mute the sound on their
Apple Watch and avoid waking the screen on wrist raise. Users still
receive notifications (including haptics) while in Theater Mode, which
they can view by tapping the screen or pressing the Digital Crown.

In case of the iPhone and iPad, you will be able to access Theatre mode via a dedicated button in Control Centre.